Can squabbling birds be successful mates? | How old should macaws be before breeding? | Can holding in droppings hurt nesting females? |

I have two cockatiels I hope will mate, but there's one small problem. The female dislikes the male. If he gets near her, she bites at his feet and kind of spars with him beak to beak until one or the other backs away, hissing. They don't hurt one another, but I usually separate them with my hand. Adding a nesting box seemed to increase the male's drive to mate. He constantly does his "man dance" and chases her even more. Should I get another female (or male) and hope that a new pair are more compatible?

--Joseph Giambalvo, St. Louis, Mo.

Often, birds will posture toward one another and still be compatible. Why would they jab and poke at each other? To see who will be "top bird" and whether they can get the other bird to do their bidding! They will crab at each other, then preen each other, and then crab at each other again. It's a common interaction among breeding pairs of psittacines.

When males become stimulated by the nest, they can become more aggressive. In some instances, they can actually harm the female. This is especially true with male cockatoos, which sometimes kill their mates. This is an unlikely outcome with cockatiels, but if your male is hurting your female when he nips her, I would separate them immediately.

How long has your pair been together? Patience is a virtue in breeding birds. If they have been together less than a year, I would take the nest away and see if they will become friends before becoming lovers.

It may be that your female is a proper lady and affronted by the forward male. By taking away the nest, you give the male a chance to calm down a little and you give her a chance to decide he is really a nice guy.

If they have been together without a nest for more than a year and are still not preening each other, you don't have a "pair made in heaven" and may need to try again with a different couple. Birds, just like people, have to be compatible to want to raise a family together.

I'd like to let my two blue-and-gold macaws breed, but they are only a couple of years old. Is that too young? I don't want to hurt their health or cause problems for any chicks.

Blue-and-gold macaws tend to become sexually mature at the age of 5 or 6. Before that, most will have problems successfully raising chicks. For one thing, males mature more slowly than females, so if the pair is young and the same age, the female may lay infertile eggs for the first year.

Even if the pair produces fertile eggs, the birds may not be psychologically mature enough to handle the responsibility. Very young birds may incubate their eggs incorrectly, abandon their babies, or even kill their babies.

Also, I believe that if birds are bred too young it depletes them and can potentially shorten their lives.

Other types of macaws become sexually mature at different ages. Hahns, the smallest of the mini-macaws, can be bred at 3 years, greenwings at 7 or 8, and hyacinths at 8 to 10.

My female cockatiel refuses to poop until she leaves the cage in which we have her nesting box and makes a couple of exercise laps around the room. This means I have to clean up a huge mess in our bird room every day. But I'm afraid if I force her to relieve herself inside the cage, she'll physically hurt herself by waiting too long to go. As it is, she literally bulges.

----Carla Mathews, San Mateo, Calif.

As you are observing, most females incubating eggs won't poop in their nest. Instead, they save up huge amounts of old, smelly fecal material so they have to leave the nest only a couple of times a day.

However, I am surprised your nesting female takes time to exercise. Usually, females come out to poop and eat and then go right back in. They don't want their eggs to get cold, and they don't want to risk injury to themselves if they are carrying eggs.

Most birds will not hold poop until they get sick. After laying, the female's cloaca is stretched out and can conveniently accommodate more material so she doesn't have to come out as frequently from the nest.

Try putting a nice T-stand next to the cage where you can set the female down when she comes off the nest. Put some papers under the stand so when she "lets loose," the poop will land where it can be easily cleaned up. Once off the nest, the bird is usually anxious to poop right away and if she is on a perch it is easier for her.

Got a question about breeding your parrots? E-mail Susanne.

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